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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “iceland”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “iceland”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 5 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Rapyd Payment Extension for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) places #2 on merit, 4.8★ from 633 reviews, but shows at wp.org #6. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field 10K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #1 2 AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too low 3 Stock Ticker 2K+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 myPOS Checkout 4K+ · 3.3★ (16) wp.org #4 5 HTML5 Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #20 15 too low 6 Flag Icons 3K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #24 18 too low 7 Dropp for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Rétractation Légale for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 EIMSKIP 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 10 Konto Checkout for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 11 BeyondSEO – AI SEO to Improve Rankings, Listings & Online Visibility 20K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 VIESAC – Free VAT Validation for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓3 4 too high 13 Authentication Plugin for the Baltics and Iceland — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Pikkoló for Woo — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Repeatwright – Customer Segments, RFM & Retention for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too high 16 seljeVisitorsFlags 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 RadarAddress – Checkout Address Autocomplete for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 Tengill for dk — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Australcode Product Reviews & Review Reminders for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Plain Cookie Consent — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Teamgate CRM Forms for WordPress 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Muzaara Content API Microsoft/Bing Data Feed 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 TrackingMore Order Tracking for WooCommerce (Free plan available) 700+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Rapyd Payment Extension for WooCommerce 500+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑1 17 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.